I’m Crutching Still

Not literally. But not full strength. At least not yet. Keep working it. Sit up straight. Don’t slump. Walk, then run.

2024 was a crummy year, in more ways than one. For me, it was a broken vertabrae, a broken elbow, and the the worst, a broken knee. Osteoporosis screening time, as my doctor’s letters remind me. A very bad infection, buckets….and that’s not figuratively…of blood. And a fall, still cleaning up the blood stains. Some progress on that.

But the thing is, I’m not in a hospital now. I’m here. My living room, my desk, my kitchen, my bedroom, my clothing, my sometimes crazy, sometimes serene, kitten Quinn.

The crutching. It’s the people. How could I be OK without them.

Family first. They have always had my back.

It was the doctors and nurses who sewed me up and made me get out of bed. No excuses. It was the CNAs who checked on me and sometimes just talked. It was the physical therapist who stood by my effort to up and move. Don’t forget the ambulance drivers.

It’s my neighbor across the hall who stops by and scolds me if I haven’t been walking. A veteran. Respect.

It’s a very good family friend who spots me when I reach the higher places in my closet and who helps me with household tasks even though she has a full time job and is multitasking like crazy.

These giving people. Nine bows. Buddhist (which I am) thing. The most gratitude.